Summer 2012 (B Term)

CSS 390 A: Introduction to Data Management

The main goal of the course is to teach best practices for managing data in the science domain. We will cover concepts such as data lifecycle, data analysis, data curation, data preservation and technologies such as XML, RDF, ontologies, storage mechanisms (e.g., databases, flat files), analysis tools (e.g., Excel, Mat lab), and visualization tools. There is a strong hands-on component to the class because you will be expected to know how to use the various tools effectively at the end of the class. Any coding we may do in class will be at a very high level (i.e., can be performed by a non CSS student) and will most likely be within the platforms of Mat lab or Excel.

Autumn 2012

CSS 390 A: Introduction to Data Management

The main goal of the course is to teach best practices for managing data in the science domain. We will cover concepts such as data lifecycle, data analysis, data curation, data preservation and technologies such as XML, RDF, ontologies, storage mechanisms (e.g., databases, flat files), analysis tools (e.g., Excel, Mat lab), and visualization tools. There is a strong hands-on component to the class because you will be expected to know how to use the various tools effectively at the end of the class. Any coding we may do in class will be at a very high level (i.e., can be performed by a non CSS student) and will most likely be within the platforms of Mat lab or Excel.

CSS 390 B: Cyber Security

This course addresses the critical need to secure the information infrastructure that supports today’s commercial and governmental operations. It prepares students for key roles in an expanding field. In this class we will: explain the capabilities of cryptographic protocols, explain what various steps in a cryptographic protocol accomplish, specify a cryptographic protocol to accomplish a given goal, know what counter measures are available to mitigate various security threats, be able to deploy and manage security applications, appreciate the need to monitor security infrastructure, reinforce and extend knowledge of network protocols, and discuss ethical issues in network security.

CSS 390 C: Bioinformatics

Recent advances in technology have caused an explosive growth in biological information available for analyzing biological questions and problems. Because of these advances in recent decades, biologists must now “think computationally” to solve our problems in health care, research diseases, and understand our environment. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bioinformatics is “Research, development, or application of computational tools and approaches for expanding the use of biological, medical, behavioral or health data, including those to acquire, store, organize, archive, analyze, or visualize such data.” To introduce this rapidly advancing field, this course will give the student a working knowledge of a variety of computational tools available to interpret the many publicly available biological datasets.

The main objective is to understand how one can use computational methods to interpret biological datasets. Specific goals include:

Learn how to approach biological problems with computational thinking

Solve problems and think analytically

Use hands-on exercises to develop a deeper understanding of bioinformatics principles and methods

Understand high throughput technologies including, but not limited to microarrays and DNA sequencing

CSS 390 D: Culture Hacking: Learning and Building Great Teams

Practice and learn how to create and maintain highly-effective teams. (hacking our team culture)

Develop an idealized design for some or all of university-level learning, and propose experiments to try at UW Bothell. (hacking our learning culture)

This is a 3-week (August 20-September 7) experiential seminar that will explore our learning and team cultures through experiential practices, readings, and co-creating products. Students will be taught practices that are known to help create and maintain great teams. They will then practice and learn about these techniques by working in teams to develop an idealized design for some or all of university-level learning. If all goes well, by the end of the course we will have a set of experiments to try at UW Bothell. Our goal is for you to learn how to hack our team culture as you work on hacking our learning culture.

How will this work?

This is a seminar that will explore our learning and team cultures. It will be highly experiential, with you being taught and then practicing techniques that are known to help create and maintain great teams. It will be project-based, as you explore and co-create wild and creative ideas about how our learning and team cultures could be dramatically better for students, employers and society. We will have a dedicated room, so we have a creative collaborative space where we can post materials on the walls, leave work in progress on the tables, etc. We will have both a lower level course (B CUSP 131) and an upper-level course (CSS 490) that meet at the same time in the same room, in order to get a greater diversity of perspectives.

Why these topics?

This course is an outgrowth of 2 separate threads: (a) a desire to bring highly effective team practices to UW Bothell, and (b) the February 2012 UW Bothell Innovation Forum, a 2-day workshop on Re-inventing University-Level Learning that was hosted at UW Bothell in March 2012 with 46 participants from UW Bothell, UW Seattle, UW Tacoma, and industry. The higher education system is undergoing dramatic changes. Organizations like Udacity, Khan Academy, Coursera, MITx, etc. are creating new business models and other ways to learn. Our learning system is changing. This course is an opportunity for students to be a part of that change.

We will investigate two aspects in parallel:

Hacking Our Team Culture

Why do we need teams?

What does a great team look like?

How can you create and maintain a great team?

How does our current culture enable or disable our ability to perform in teams?